Abstract Biobased films consisting of blends of chitosan with poly(octanoic acid 2-thiophen-3-yl-ethyl ester) (POTE), a conducting polymer, and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were prepared, and their thermal, morphological and surface potential properties were studied. POTE was dissolved in THF and mixed with an acidified aqueous solution containing chitosan to obtain chitosan/POTE (CS/POTE) films by solution casting. To produce gold nanoparticles in the CS/POTE films (i.e., CS/POTE/AuNP films), an aqueous solution of KAuCl4 salt at fixed concentration was added to the initial chitosan solution. The fabricated biobased films were characterized by spectroscopic techniques (FT-IR and UV–visible), thermogravimetry, contact angle analysis, polarized light microscopy (PLM), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) and scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy (SKPFM). The effects of varying POTE composition and the presence of gold nanoparticles in the films were analyzed. For example, the results indicated the existence of interactions between chitosan and POTE, and LPM studies revealed a predominantly amorphous nature of these biobased films. In addition, the optical and surface potential behaviors of the films were examined by UV–visible and KPFM techniques. From the UV–visible spectra, the optical band gaps were estimated for the samples, and their surface potential maps exhibited differences according to the composition of POTE and the presence of AuNPs. Finally, theoretical electronic calculations provided insight into the contributions of POTE and gold nanoparticles to the electronic activity of the films.

中文翻译：

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含有金纳米粒子的壳聚糖/POTE生物基薄膜的光学和电子活性：实验和理论分析

摘要 制备了由壳聚糖与聚（辛酸 2-噻吩-3-基-乙酯）（POTE）、导电聚合物和金纳米粒子（AuNPs）的共混物组成的生物基薄膜，并研究了它们的热、形态和表面电位特性。被研究。将POTE溶解在THF中并与含有壳聚糖的酸化水溶液混合，通过溶液浇铸获得壳聚糖/POTE（CS/POTE）薄膜。为了在 CS/POTE 膜（即 CS/POTE/AuNP 膜）中生产金纳米粒子，将固定浓度的 KAuCl4 盐水溶液添加到初始壳聚糖溶液中。通过光谱技术（FT-IR和UV-visible）、热重法、接触角分析、偏振光显微镜（PLM）、场发射扫描电子显微镜 (FE-SEM) 和扫描开尔文探针力显微镜 (SKPFM)。分析了不同 POTE 成分的影响和薄膜中金纳米颗粒的存在。例如，结果表明壳聚糖和 POTE 之间存在相互作用，LPM 研究揭示了这些生物基薄膜主要是无定形的。此外，通过紫外-可见光和 KPFM 技术检查了薄膜的光学和表面电位行为。根据紫外-可见光谱，估计样品的光学带隙，它们的表面电位图根据 POTE 的组成和 AuNPs 的存在而表现出差异。最后，